TDF STAGE 13 REPORT and RESULTS 2014 TOUR DE FRANCE

Stage 13 Report

197.5k from Saint-Étienne to Chamrousse. High mountains; HC summit finish.

Weather: Clear skies; Hot, high 80s f.

Stage 13 forays into the Alps

Matteo Trentin was relegated from 6th to 60th place on stage 12, after his crooked sprint in the finish, which blocked out John Degenkolb. Trentin made a public and genuine apology for the illegal move, which he said was not intentional.

Arthur Vichot (FDJ) abandoned the race today, due to bronchitis.

To the road:

A 9-man breakaway group has gotten clear. The break includes:

Bakelants, Visconti, Durasek, Brice Feillu, Oss, Kadri, De Marchi, Molard, and Huzarski.

Van Den Broeck and Kittel have been down on the ground, before the race came on the air.

*Visconti was first over the first cat-3 KOM, and Kadri was second.

Katusha are driving at the front of the peloton.

By km85 the lead is almost five minutes.

They have averaged 44 kph (27 mph) over the first two hours on the road.

Stage 13 profile shows two long climbs

-97k: The lead is 3:50.

-96k: Cofidis leader Daniel Navarro is off the bike getting attention on the roadside. He has been ill with bronchitis, and is now climbing into the team car with a painful grimace on his face. The Spanish climber's race is over.

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TDF STAGE 13 ALPS PREVIEW 2014 TOUR DE FRANCE

Stage 13 destination: Chamrousse

Stage 13 Preview:

Tomorrow: The Alps arrive! The cat-1 Col de Palaquit is a Tour first-timer as the first climb in the Alps. It's about 14k at just over 6% average. But a short descent of about 2k in length interrupts the climb after the first 3kms, so the actual 12k of climbing includes some much steeper sections. 

Stage 13 enters the Alps

The 200-k long stage finishes at 1730m up, on the Chamrousse. It is an HC climb at 18.2k long, with a 7.3% average gradient. Most of the steepest sections come early on the climb, but after 180k of racing in the heat and sun, and after the long Palaquit climb, riders will have to pace themselves carefully, or risk going into the red too soon.

It is expected to be another very hot day tomorrow, over 90 f. For this reason, the GC favorites may decide not to burn too much fuel till the finish. This could allow a strong breakaway the chance to succeed. Though what we usually see, and what I expect we'll see tomorrow, is the GC teams timing it so that they catch the break on, or just before, the final climb. Then the top climbers will see who's got the best legs at the summit finish, and will try to improve their overall positions in a tight race for the podium. 

The next two days are strictly for the mountain goats. Froome, Contador, and Talansky are gone, and Nibali still has a nice two-minute cushion at the top of the leader board. But we know that anything can happen in a 3-week tour, and just one day, when a rider is not at his best, or he hits a small crack in the road, or accidentally touches wheels with another rider, can change the entire complexion and outcome of the race.

The HC Chamrousse climb profile

Most, if not all of the riders currently in the top 10 overall, have been fairly evenly matched in the few mountains we have seen so far. But this is when the dents and scratches and nuances start to separate the conditions of the riders from each other. I expect we will continue to have a hot battle for GC positions all the way to the end. Then, of course comes the race of truth...

I really think that Nibali could win the stage on Friday if he wants, and the others will have to attack him to try and rein him in. Richie Porte and Alejandro Valverde seem best able to challenge Nibali now. Then Bardet, Peraud, Pinot and Van Garderen seem sort of evenly matched at a close, but second tier. In optimal circumstances all of them, along with Mollema, Van Den Broeck, Fuglsang, Kwiatkowski, Rui Costa, Chris Horner, Haimar Zubeldia, Leo Konig, and Pierre Rolland are really all top-tier GC contenders, but there is only so much room at the top.

Their fitness levels right now suggest that the current top three on GC may be a cut above the rest, but a quick look at the standings shows that a mere 2:16 separates the second and tenth place riders. Those gaps should start to grow tomorrow, and some riders will overtake others' positions, and some will fall.

Mollema seems to be looking better since his illness, so I would definitely not count him out. Bardet and Peraud look great, as do Tejay and Pinot, so no matter what, we will be treated to a good fight.

Nibali said that he will attack the others in the mountains when he can. He knows that he is not the best at the time trial, and he will want as big a cushion as he can get when the race gets to Bergerac on stage 20. So rather than just follow the wheels of your nearest challengers, when you have a cozy lead, Nibali says he will be active. It's really up to his rivals, though, to bring the race to him.

 

Nibali and Porte are the top two on GC.  Photo: AP

I expect we'll see guys try to get into the breakaways in the Alps like Edet, Cherel, Riblon, Voeckler, Westra, Bakelants, Roy, Kadri, and maybe Rein Taaramae--certainly Cofidis and Europcar will have something going. Maybe high profile guys like Roche, Rogers, or even Majka will have a go, since no one on the Saxo team is within 45 minutes of the race lead. Rogers is their highest placed currently, at 41st and 47:48 off the pace.

Finally never forget Purito Rodriguez. He is the current King of the Mountains jersey wearer, and says he will pursue the overall in that competition. He may try to get into a break in either or both of the Alps stages to grab more points, and maybe have a chance to try for a stage win. I think stage 14 suits the Spaniard a little better than 13.

My pick for stage 13:

Team SKY replacement-captain, and ex-triathlete, the Tasmanian Richie Porte.

Longshot pick:

I hope to see attacks from Rolland, Horner, Gadret and Konig in the Alps, among others, so I'll pick one of my favorite riders: American Chris Horner of the Italian Lampre-Merida team.

TDF Stage 12 Report and Results 2014 Tour De France

Stage 12 Race Report - as it happened:

Stage 12 on the map

185.5k from Bourg-en-Bresse to Saint-Étienne

Rolling; 4 low-grade climbs on the way. Fast, flat finish.

Weather: Sunny and hot, 89f. Very little wind.

178 riders took the start today.

DNS: Andrew Talansky ; despite yesterday's valiant effort, the American was not able to continue in the race.

A 4-man break leads on the road: Rast (TFR), Clarke (OGE), Vachon (BSE). De La Cruz (TNE).

They build about a six-minute advantage over the first 40k.

Sebastian Langeveld (GRS) connects up with the lead group, and we've got a 5-man breakaway group now. But their lead is coming down...

*km 39.5: INT (Romaneche Thorins):

1. Vachon  2. Rast  3. Clarke  4. De La Cruz  5. Langeveld  6. Kittel  7. Coquard  8. Renshaw  9. Feillu  10. Greipel  11. Sagan  12. Sabatini  13. Viviani  14. Veelers  15. Gene

Stage 12 profile

-130k: The break has a 3:45 advantage over the peloton. It seems early for the peloton to be chasing down the break, but the teams have their strategies. Sprinters' teams who hope to contest the finish will want to keep the break on a reasonably tight leash. Giant Shimano are driving the pace now.

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Stage 13 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

Stage 13 profile

Stage 13 on the map

Stage 13 is a rolling 169 kilometers, which looks at first glance like a sprinter’s stage. But the profile might be slightly misleading. The most outstanding characteristic on the profile is the climb that comes 115 kilometers into the stage. The category-1 Alto del Rat Penat rises 460 meters over 4.3k for an average gradient of a painful 10.6% and a max of 16%, but it tops out with about 50k to go to the finish. It should produce some splits in the peloton, probably dropping some of the sprinters, but 50k is a lot of road to pull back an escape.

The cat-1 climb profile

Ten KOM points are available at the summit of the category-1 Alto del Rat Penat climb, in addition to the three points up for grabs on the early cat-3 climb. While that is no windfall of mountain points, it could still be significant enough in a tight polka dot jersey race, to tempt a persistent jersey hunter like maybe Cofidis’ Nicolas Edet, or Saxo’s Tomas Marczynski, to get into the break.

The final 5k ends with a short slope up

The finale should prove to be the deciding factor when the riders speed in to Castelldefels on the Balearic Coast near Barcelona. 15 flat final kilometers lead up to a four hundred meter slope up to the line. The hill gets steeper toward the top, so this is not exactly ideal for the sprinters. But the stronger, punchy finishers should like the look of the finale.

Expect Philippe Gilbert and Edvald Boasson Hagen to go for it again tomorrow. I would also expect to see Rinaldo Nocentini, Michael Matthews, Gianni Meersman, maybe Stybar or Flecha, and possibly several of the top GC riders take a shot at that final kick up to the line. I would not be surprised at all to see Fabian Cancellara take another shot at a stage win on Friday.

My pick to win stage 13: I really like Nocentini, Gilbert, and Boasson Hagen for stage 13. Yesterday I picked Gilbert to win stage 13, but then he won stage 12 today. So I am going to go with Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky for the win on Friday.

My dark-horse pick goes to Warren Barguil of Argos Shimano. 

Stage 13 Report and Results 2013 Tour De France

173k from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond

Flat

Weather: sunny, 25-27c/77-82f; crosswinds expected on the open road.

Stage 13 profile

In a pre-race interview today, Mark Cavendish was full of praise for Marcel Kittel. He said the German—who has won three stages here already—is the best sprinter at the Tour right now. I am paraphrasing, but Cav also suggested that Kittel has established himself as one of the best sprinters in the world, and that this Tour might mark a sort of changing of the guard. “It’s the cycle of life,” he said.  It was strange to hear the 28-year-old speaking as though Kittel were part of a “new generation” of cyclists coming up who could be supplanting him as the fastest in the world.

Stage 13 continues to the southeast

As I mentioned yesterday, Team Sky lost Edvald Boasson Hagen to the big crash that happened with about 2.6k to go on stage 12. That is the second important cog in their wheel to be forced to abandon the race (Kiryienka missed the time cut in stage 9). Boasson suffered a broken bone in his shoulder when he went down hard as riders crashed in front of him and he could do nothing to stop his bike from hitting the pile-up and throwing him to the ground. With Kennaugh and Thomas riding out their own injuries, Chris Froome will have to get the best out of the remainder of his team to keep him protected and help him conquer the Alps next week.

The little hill that pops up in the last 10k of the stage is reported to be insignificant. The sprinters should be able to control the finish. Wind in the wide-open stretches may be a big factor today.

TO THE ACTION:

At the start six men go clear.

The 6-man break consists of: Przemyslaw Niemiec (LAM), Cyril Lemoine (SOJ), Luis Mate (COF), Ruben Perez (EUS), Yohann Gene (EUC), and Kris Boeckmans (VCD). Niemiec is highest place on GC at +24:58. 

Km 28: With 145k left to ride the leaders have a gap of 2:30 to the peloton.

-120k: the lead is up to 3:42.

Stage 13 Preview and Profile 2013 Tour De France

Stage 13 on the map

Stage 13 is another flat, southeasterly route, that will take the riders from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond over 173 kilometers. On the way they will top one category-four climb, but the more important hill will be the uncategorized one that comes just a few kms before the finish. A strong puncheur may try an attack there. The sprinters teams will again work to get their men into a bunch sprint.

 

Stage 13 Profile

Stage 13 continues southeast

Marcel Kittel now has three stage wins and is looking like the fastest man to beat in this year’s sprint stages. Peter Sagan has got a stranglehold on the green jersey, but would surely like another stage win. 

André Greipel’s team was blown to pieces in the late stage-11 crash, and Mark Cavendish has not had enough good lead-outs to show his best stuff.

I can’t find specs on that little hill at the end, but its descent looks like it could be steep and maybe technical, though it can’t be more than a kilometer long or so. 

The last 5k are pancake flat to the finish line. I think the sprinters’ teams will arrive there in charge, up front, and prevent others from coming around.

That hill could possibly spoil some sprinters’ hopes at the end, but we will have to see what kind of effect it really has when they get there. 

I would think it is a good launch pad for Peter Sagan, or maybe Juan Antonio Flecha or Sylvain Chavanel will have another go. But an attack on a small slope like that will not have much opportunity to build a big lead for the flat run in to the finish.

MY PICK: Peter Sagan